TOKYO, Nov 19 ― Tokyo stocks closed higher today as investors largely welcomed fresh Japan stimulus designed to shore up its pandemic recovery.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index rose 0.50 per cent, or 147.21 points, to 29,745.87. Over the week, it gained 0.5 per cent.
The broader Topix index was up 0.44 per cent or 9.01 points at 2,044.53 and added 0.2 per cent from a week before.
“Although it was widely expected, the market took the package as positive news,” said Toshikazu Horiuchi, a broker at IwaiCosmo Securities.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced a record US$490 billion (RM2.05 trillion) stimulus for the world's third-largest economy today, as he looks to shore up the country's patchy pandemic recovery.
The 56 trillion yen injection, the third since the Covid crisis struck last year and expected to be formally approved by the cabinet later in the day, “is enough to deliver a sense of safety and hope to the Japanese people”, Kishida said.
“Market sentiment is not so bad,” Horiuchi told AFP, adding: “The 30,000 mark is in sight.”
The dollar fetched ¥114.34 in Asian afternoon trade, against ¥114.25 in New York late yesterday.
In Tokyo, tech shares were among winners.
Chip-making equipment manufacturer Tokyo Electron jumped 3.64 per cent to ¥62,820 and Advantest, a producer of chip-testing kits, gained 1.55 per cent to ¥10,430.
Asics, which provides goods for Los Angeles Angels star Shohei Ohtani, surged 3.35 per cent to ¥3,020 after the Japanese baseball player was named American League Most Valuable Player.
Mizuho Financial Group fell 1.85 per cent to ¥1,458.5 after reports said its Chief Executive Officer Tatsufumi Sakai would step down in the wake of multiple technical failures that drew criticism from the government. ― AFP